A Shot in the Dark
by isaacswolfsbane
Summary: A collection of unrelated one-shots and drabbles.
1. Breakdown

**AN: **For Carmen (lupuscarmen13) for the Monthly Drabble Exchange.

Also, I know Remus got bitten as a child, but for the purposes of this story I had him bit while he was at Hogwarts.

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**Breakdown**

"Come on James, you're on the Quidditch team. Surely you're faster that that!" Sirius called as he raced through the castle on his way back to the Common Room after the latest prank he and James had pulled.

"Just be thankful you didn't bring Pettigrew with you!" his friend yelled at him, gasping for breath. Sirius just laughed and carried on running. He'd just gone through a tapestry into a hidden corridor when he tripped over a pair of legs and landed sprawled out on the floor. Getting up, Sirius turned around to make some snide remark to what was probably a lost first year but stopped himself when he realised who it was huddled against the wall.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Sirius asked his heart racing as he knelt down next to his best friend. When there was no reply he asked again, more urgently this time. "Remus! Remus mate, what's wrong? Is it the bite again?"

Sirius saw the boy next to him stir and he let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. He rearranged himself into a more comfortable position and sat against the wall next to the other boy until he decided he wanted to talk. Sirius only wished he had some food with him, who knew how long it was going to take Remus to tell him what was wrong. Fortunately, luck was on his side as it was only about 5 minutes later when he heard his friend's voice.

"I…" Remus started, "yeah, it was the bite. It was hurting again and I just couldn't take it so I went for a walk, try and walk it off you know, and I just started feeling lightheaded so I sat down and I guess I must have passed out since the next thing I know is I'm on the floor and someone tripped over my legs!"

Sirius sat there for a while, both unsure whether his friend would say anything more on the matter and what he could say to reassure the boy next to him.

"It's going to be okay, you know," Sirius finally told him, "Dumbledore's doing his best to see what he can do to help, there's plenty of wolfsbane potion brewing and Madam Pomfrey said it might not even turn you."

"But what if it _does_?" Remus asked his voice catching. Sirius could tell that his friend was trying to hold back tears. Listening out for anyone nearby Sirius decided to tell Remus the plan he'd come up with to solve the werewolf problem.

"If it does – which, again, we don't know – then we're going to deal with that as and when it happens. But," Sirius continued, cutting off whatever Remus was about to say, "that doesn't mean we're not doing anything. I've decided that we – that's James, Peter and I – are going to become animagi. We've started looking into it and it doesn't seem so hard."

Remus couldn't help but laugh at this. "'Doesn't seem so hard'? Mate, we're third years, that's complex stuff. There's no way you'd be able to pull that off!"

"Do you doubt the only sensible Black family member's abilities? You should be careful who you insult, wasn't your mouth the thing that got you bitten in the first place?" Sirius teased, but instantly regretted it as he watched Remus' face fall again.

"I don't want to be a werewolf…" Remus mumbled the tears that had threatened to spill earlier now flowing from his eyes.

"I know, mate. I know." Sirius replied gently, pulling the other boy into his arms.

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**AN: **This was my first time writing anything Marauders era so let me know what you think. I was planning on making it more romantic, but this just seemed like a good place to stop.

**Also for **(because they fit)**:**

_**Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt;**_

_Marauders Era._

_**Harry Potter Chapter Competition;**_

_Percy and Padfoot – Write about Sirius._

_**Disney Character Competition;**_

_Peter Pan – Sirius Black._

_**The Title Challenge;**_

_Breakdown._

**_Daily Inspiration Challenge;_**

_Monday 28th July - Remus/Sirius._


	2. Here Goes Nothing

**AN: **In my headcanon Blaise married Daphne Greengrass which would make his child(ren) cousins of Scorpius.

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**Here Goes Nothing**

_Everyone else in the room can see it,  
__Everyone else but you._

**xxx**

Sat at the Slytherin table, Albus decided he'd had enough of the longing glances his sister and his best friend were shooting each other across the Great Hall when the other wasn't looking.

"Just ask her out already, mate!" Albus told the boy sat next to him. It had taken Scorpius far too long to ask Rose out, he was not sitting through another year of this with Caspar. At least Caspar wasn't in his house.

"What's the point, she's not going to say yes. I bet she doesn't even like me!" Caspar replied, earning an 'are you stupid' look from Rose.

"Caspar Edwin Zabini! Your best friend has just given you his permission to ask his little sister out, surely you should be jumping at that chance before he changes his mind?" Rose jumped in from the other side of the table.

"Plus, we _were _trying to sort out Al's love life. This is just distracting," Scorpius added in a lazy manner.

"And more importantly," Rose added, giving Scorpius the same look she had given Caspar not thirty seconds earlier, "she _does _like you. It's painfully obvious!"

"What do you mean?" Caspar asked, genuinely confused.

"She means that everyone – and I mean everyone – except you are aware that she has been totally and completely in love with you since she started here. Why do you think she was so happy to make Ravenclaw?" Scorpius told his cousin plainly.

"But… but what if it's just a stupid crush? What if it isn't true love?" Caspar challenged, although he realised by now he was going to lose this argument.

"Then you're going to have a fun, stable, loving relationship for a few years until it all ends when you do meet 'the one'! Look, I'm all for true love, you know I am. Everybody should have true love, and it should last at least as long as your life does, but that doesn't mean you can't have other relationships along the way." Rose told him.

"And if that hasn't convinced you," Scorpius drawled, "then just watch her for about a minute. She'll look up at you, meet your gaze, blush and look down again. If I'm right, you have to ask her out!" Scorpius stuck his hand out.

"Okay," Caspar replied, shaking Scorpius' offered hand with a smirk, "but if you're wrong then you're doing all my homework for the week."

The three boys and Rose all sat in silence while they waited to see what Lily would do; Caspar watching the witch, Albus watching his watch and Rose and Scorpius watching Caspar's reaction.

Twenty Eight seconds later, by Albus' watch, Lily looked up from her food, met Caspar's gaze, blushed and then looked away. Caspar felt a smile creep onto his face as he watched the witch do exactly what Scorpius had said she would, and turned around to the smirks of his friends.

Albus smiled as he watched Caspar stand up and head over to his sister at the Ravenclaw table. He'd been gone for about five minutes when Albus heard an excited squeak from the other side of the Hall and looked up to see his sister embrace his best friend.

"It's about time!" Connor Bluewater said, sinking into the recently vacated seat next to Albus, "there's only so much inter house unity this Slytherin table can take and Scorpius dating a Gryffindor pretty much fills that up."

Albus laughed at this, he smile only faltering when he saw the 'you next' looks he was getting from Rose and Scorpius.

_Well, here goes nothing._

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This is for:

**_Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt;_**

_Next Gen._

**_One Direction Competition;_**

_What Makes You Beautiful._

**_The Fault in Our Stars Competition;_**

_Isaac – Everybody should have true love, and it should last at least as long as your life does._

**_If You Dare;_**

_227 - Beating Around the Bush._


	3. Bad First Date

**Bad First Date**

James was nervous. In fact, James was pretty sure this was the most nervous he had ever been in his entire life. Not even when he was trying out to get onto the Quidditch team in his second year, or when he, along with Peter and Sirius, transformed into their Animagus forms for the first time. He was even more nervous about this than he was about the NEWTs he was taking at the end of the year. Going on a first date with Lily Evans was 100% the most nerve wracking thing James had ever done, and was likely to do, in the entirety of his existence.

He thought back with fondness to the moment when Lily finally agreed to go on a date with him. There were conditions, of course, but she had agreed none the less.

_James was walking out of their potions class, along with Sirius, Remus and Peter, laughing about the prank they had pulled on Snivellus during the lesson when he heard her voice behind him._

"_Okay, Potter, you win!" she called, throwing her hands up in defeat. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend in two weeks; I'll go on a date with you then if that's what it'll take to stop you bugging me."_

_James felt his face light up, he couldn't believe this amazing, beautiful witch that seemed to hate him so much was actually agreeing to go on a date with him. He was about to respond when Lily cut him off._

"_I'll make you a deal though. This will be the only time I am going to give in to your constant annoyance. You have this date to make me want to go on another one with you, if you fail then you have to stop being mean to Severus. You've been at it for six years; surely he deserves a year off after all this time?" Lily told him, her face expectant._

_James was torn, of course he wanted to go on a date with Lily, but was he willing to risk it all on one date. If he failed, he'd not only lose her but his main source of entertainment as well._

"_Okay, Evans, It's a date." James knew it was the best offer he was going to get from her; she really was an exceptionally clever witch and knew just what would make him bite. "Two weeks!"_

James looked at his watch; it was five minutes before they had to meet. They had decided that they weren't going to spend all day with each other, and that they would meet at Madam Puddifoot's at four. Neither of them had wanted to go to Madam Puddifoot's – Lily describing it as 'a room full of people desperately showing off that they have a better love life than you' – but there wasn't anywhere else to go in Hogsmeade, except The Three Broomsticks of course but that was always crowded, especially since it was almost the start of winter so there was a chill in the air.

He looked up and spotted Lily approaching, his nerves all racing back to him. James had spent the last two weeks deciding how to charm her; what to say, what to offer her, whether he should buy her something, until Remus had told him _'No matter how smart you are, you can never convince someone stupid that they're stupid. The same goes for love mate, just be yourself or you're going to make yourself look like a bloody idiot!'_

"Lily, you look lovely." James told her as she reached him. Lovely wasn't the word James wanted to use; lovely was how you described someone's cooking. Lily was far more than lovely; Lily was beautiful, ravishing, radiant, magnificent, elegant, wonderful, dazzling, exquisite, gorgeous, stunning and downright cute. Lovely just didn't describe how James felt about Lily one bit, not that he was going to tell her of course. He'd seen Lily in everyday clothes many times, they were in the same house after all, but never had he seen her look so good in them. She was wearing a blue jumper tucked into the waistband of a black skirt with a pattern of flowers coming up from the hem the right hand side, and it suited her perfectly.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Potter." She replied, looking him up and down. James had made an effort for this date, he'd put on his best muggle clothes – a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt and a pale green jumper – and even tried to sort out his hair for the first time in his life.

"Come on Lily, we're on a date. Surely you can call me by my first name just this once?" James teased her, while his eyes drank in every bit of her appearance committing it to memory. He was incredibly thankful his voice didn't betray his nerves.

"Don't push it, Potter." James thought he could detect a hint of teasing to her voice, but he wasn't to sure.

When they went inside, James tried to do all the right things; he held the door open for her, pulled out her chair and tried not to embarrass her. However, by then end of the date James could tell he'd failed. He wasn't sure when, but he suspected somewhere between complaining about the muggle world and calling Severus 'Snivelly' for the fifth time. As they left, James tried being chivalrous again; holding the door open, offering Lily his scarf since she didn't have hers, but nothing worked. The dater had been a disaster!

James was just about to ask Lily what had gone wrong when she pulled him off to the side and behind the shop.

"What in the name of Merlin was that James Potter?" she asked accusingly.

"I don't know what you mean." James really was stumped, he'd been nothing but nice to her minus the occasional slip of the tongue.

"I mean," she frowned, "the being overly nice! No one hold doors open for anyone anymore, I don't need your help getting into my chair and I think I even heard you say 'Severus' instead of 'Snivelly' on three separate occasions."

James was speechless, he had gone out of his way to be nice for this girl because she didn't seem to like him normally, and she just threw it all back in his face. Maybe Remus had been right, maybe she was never going to love him back.

"Lily, I…" he started, before stopping himself as he had no idea what he wanted to say.

"James, I know you meant well, but I just can't see it working. I'm sorry I put you through this. The deal is off, just… just quit bugging me about it, okay?" those words hurt more than anything she'd said all night. He hated the sound of pity in her voice. As Lily started to leave, James finally found his voice again. This time, he was really going to go for it.

"Lily, wait!" he called after the retreating witch, running to catch up with her. "Lily, please. I'm sorry if I seemed a bit off to you, it's just… I was so nervous about this date. I've spent all week trying to decide how best to get you to see that I do care, I really do. Remus told me I was an idiot for even trying, but I had to. Lily, I'm in love with you. I know that love if just a shout into the void, that oblivion is inevitable and we're all doomed, and I am in love with you!"

They stood there in silence for a minute, both of them digesting what James had just said. James wasn't sure where that speech had come from, but the look in Lily's eye told him that he had managed to say exactly the right thing. It was Lily that finally broke the silence.

"Who said anything about oblivion?" James just laughed.

"Out of all of the things I just said, _that _is the thing you pick up on?" he challenged her, watching her resolve break. After a minute Lily started laughing as well, and it was the most beautiful sound James had ever heard.

The two of them had started the walk to The Three Broomsticks where they had agreed to meet their friends when James heard Lily say "Do over?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, unsure what she was talking about.

"A do over. Of today I mean. Let's just put this quite frankly disastrous date behind us, like it never happened. I'll agree to one more, as long as you promise to be yourself next time."

James just smiled; maybe Remus wasn't right after all.

* * *

**AN: **This was my first time writing Jily, I'd really appreciate it if you let me know what you thought of it. Thanks for reading.

This is for;

_**The Spell, Curse and Charm Competition;**_

_Geminio – Marauders Era._

_**Last Man Standing Competition;**_

_Marauders Era._

_**Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt;**_

_First Date._

_**Wand Wood Competition;**_

_Red Oak – an Animagus._

_**The Fault in Our Stars Competition;**_

_Augustus Waters – I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable and that we're all doomed, and I am in love with you._

_**Daily Inspiration Challenge;**_

_8__th__ August – No matter how smart you are, you can never convince someone stupid that they're stupid._

_**Harry Potter Chapter Competition;**_

_The Beetle at Bay (OotP) – Bad first date._

_**If You Dare Challenge;**_

_509 – Love._


	4. Monster

**Monster**

"Remus! Remus, wait!" Sirius called as his best friend sprinted through the corridors of the school. Remus ignored the boy and continued his journey, he looked like he was trying to get away from something. Sirius shrugged it off though and tried again.

"Remus, please, I _need _to talk to you!" Sirius called after the retreating boy. Remus finally stopped when he said this and turned to face Sirius.

"What?" he asked in a harsh tone, "What could possibly be so important that you had to chase me through the entire castle?"

"Merlin, Remus, calm down! What's wrong?" Sirius asked as he noticed the boy in front of him was incredibly fidgety.

"I'm just in a hurry to get somewhere, that's all…" Remus tried to brush Sirius off, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Remus, I know. You don't have to hide it anymore, okay?"

"Then you should know you can't be around me right now!" he roared. Remus turned to leave, but Sirius grabbed his sleeve before he could.

"Rem—"

"LET GO OF ME!"

Sirius did let go, stunned by the sudden outburst, but he held his gaze steady almost challenging his friend to move.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius asked. Somehow he managed to keep his voice steady despite the ball of nerves that was eating him from the inside.

"Tell you what? That I'm a monster?" Remus said in a hard voice that scared Sirius, but this was his best friend and so Sirius wasn't going to leave him behind.

"You're not–" Sirius was cut off by a grunt from Remus who now looked like he was in pain, "Remus, what's happening? Are you okay?"

"I need to go," Remus said in a strained voice before turning his back on Sirius and sprinting from the castle.

Sirius stood still for a minute before he managed to shake himself into gear. Dropping the bag that had been on his back, Sirius tore after the boy that had just left. There was no way Sirius was letting his best friend go through this alone. He sped his way through the corridors and as he got to the Entrance Hall he saw Remus leaving through the front doors so followed.

"REMUS!" Sirius roared as he chased his best friend through the grounds, "REMUS!"

Remus stopped in his tracks and let the boy catch up to him.

"What is it? What could you possibly have to tell me that's more important than THIS?" Remus shouted the last word, and Sirius could hear the fear in his friend's voice.

"Well, it's just… James said to wait for all of us, but I just couldn't wait for Wormtail anymore…"

"Spit it out!" Remus said, his voice getting sharper and slightly more animalistic the more he spoke.

"It's… oh, screw it!" Sirius announced before turning his face away from Remus' gaze.

It only took a moment, but the transformation was still new to Sirius and therefore still hurt like hell. It was all he could manage not to cry out in pain, but when he looked at Remus he knew that the boy saw it in his eyes.

"Sirius, wha—" Remus started to ask what was wrong but stopped himself when he noticed what was happening.

Sirius looked away as the transformation finished, and when he looked back through the eyes of a dog he could see just how much this meant to Remus, and he was glad he'd decided to tell the boy tonight.

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**Words:** 586.

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**This is for:**

_**School of Prompts;**_

_K2 - Monster._


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